Cross Country Win!
Congratulations to the Renmark HS team who won the Interschool Cross Country Competition recently.  A fantastic effort by all students involved who ran against some strong competition!

Student Progress and "traffic lights"
One of the valuable ways at RHS to monitor student progress is the use of a "traffic light" system.  Every 5 weeks students are given a colour code according to their progress in each subject.  Green indicates students who are not currently at risk, yellow indicates students who are at risk due to attendance, submission of work, or disengagement and red indicates students who are severely at risk (below expected standard). 

We encourage you to log into your Daymap parent portal to check out the traffic light data and to use this to prompt conversations with your child about their progress at school.  Please do not hesitate to contact teachers at the school with any concerns or questions, especially if you see a yellow or red rating.  Well done to the students who are in the green, your efforts are resulting in successful achievements.

Riverland collaboration

This Friday, 7th June is a a Student Free Day at Renmark High School. Our teachers and SSOs will join staff from other high schools across the Riverland (Waikerie, Glossop and Loxton High Schools and Swan Reach Area School).  Working with others provides the valuable opportunity for staff to share good practice and develop broader perspectives. The Student Free Day provides an opportunity for this valuable collaboration across our sites and we appreciate the alternative arrangements families make to enable this to happen.

Mat Evans - Principal

Our Success at Spanish Sweets

Wednesday mornings are always busy here at our Flexible Learning Centre, as FLO students are keen to participate in Cooking from around the World. This class offers them the ability to learn new skills in food preparation, cooking, and research. Each week, students choose a country that interests them, and conduct research into that country and their cuisine. As a group, they then choose a traditional dish they would like to cook, find recipes to make the dish, and plan what ingredients will be needed.

This week, students decided to look to the country of Spain, and were in the mood for a sweet dessert. Their choice was a natural one: churros, covered in cinnamon and sugar, with chocolate dipping sauce and strawberries on the side.

Working as a team, the students organised their ingredients and learnt some new skills along the way. Their hearts whisked away to Spain, as they developed skills in whisking batter to the right consistently and mastering the art of piping churros batter into hot oil. The result: delicious crispy and fluffy churros.

Some of our students had previous donut making skills, and found the procedure to be similar, which allowed them to help and support others. However for some, this was all new and exciting, and they enjoyed learning how to make sweet desserts, as opposed to the savoury dishes that have been cooked over the last few weeks.

Next week our students have decided to stay close to Spain and cook a traditional Bolognese from Italy. As it’s something many of our them haven’t cooked, but have eaten on many occasions, they are keen to learn how to make an unforgettable Bolognese sauce.

Alistair Ward - FLO Coordinator | Senior Leader – Learner Engagement

Staffing Changes for the Remainder of Term 2.

There will be some staffing changes for the remainder of the term to accommodate staff on long service leave and accouchement leave.

We welcome Wayne Elliott to the Maths and Science faculty and Nikki Vlassopoulos to the Drama, HASS, Home Ec Faculty.

Changes are as follows:

Wayne Elliot - 12.3 Care Group (Mike Young), 8.2 Science (Mike Young), Year 10 Science (Mike Young), 8.4 Science (Jess Farrelly), 11 General Maths (Michael Branford) and year 9 Maths (Michael Branford)

Michael Branford year 11 Maths (Mike Young) 10 Maths (Wayne Elliott)

Nikki Vlassopoulos 10.1 Care Group (Wendy Matulic), 11/12 Drama, Year 8 HASS, Yr 8 Drama, Yr 8 Food Tech and EALD 

Jess Farrelly will also be the acting Maths Coordinator for the remainder of the term as well as supporting the Year 12 Chemistry students.

Lael Ferguson will be supporting the Specialist Maths Class.

The wearing of a school uniform creates a sense of collective and individual pride in our school as well as giving our students a sense of belonging. Security around our school is also significantly enhanced as our students can be readily identified as belonging to Renmark High School.

The RHS School Uniform Policy has been developed through consultation and feedback from staff, students and the wider community and is supported by our Governing Council.

Parents are able to purchase new uniforms from Yates Menswear and Tri State Graphics.

In addition to this, parents are able to source quality pre loved items through our Student Services Office or apply for assistance in cases of financial hardship.

Please read and discuss our School Uniform policy with your high school child/ren to ensure we are working towards successful implementation together.

The Stage 1 Psychology class have been learning about Human Psychological Development.  In this topic, we learn about how the brain develops and how thought processes change from infancy to adulthood. The Renmark High School year 11 students have been developing their own investigation based on the research from Piaget and Erikson. This week we went to the Renmark Children’s Centre with a range of activities to see the cognitive processes in children ranging from 2 years old to 4 years old. These activities tested the children’s Preoperational Stage of Piaget’s theory. In this stage, the child uses language and symbols, including letters and numbers. Conservation marks the end of the Preoperational Stage, and this is what the students focussed on. To do this, they used a range of resources such as the levels of water in glasses, how big a roll of playdough is and the value of a range of coins.

Next week, we go to Renmark Primary School to work with older children  and see if the mindset changes.

Lucinda Yates, Psychology Teacher.

Background Knowledge

The 2019 theme for National Reconciliation Week is Grounded in Truth: Walk together with Courage. This theme reminds us that at the heart of reconciliation is the relationship between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To foster positive race relations, our relationship must be grounded in a foundation of truth.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long called for a comprehensive process of truth-telling about Australia’s colonial history. Our nation’s past is reflected in the present, and will continue to play out in future unless we heal historical wounds.

Today, 80 per cent of Australians believe it is important to undertake formal truth-telling processes, according to the 2018 Australian Reconciliation Barometer. Australians are ready to come to terms with our history as a crucial step towards a unified future, in which we understand, value and respect each other.

To complement this year’s NRW theme, Grounded in Truth: Walk together with Courage, the NRW 2019 poster is designed around a central “tree of truth” image. The tree of truth is what happens when the seeds of empathy, solidarity and love are sown; this is a representation of the reconciled community that all Australians can grow into, if we’re able to honestly and holistically acknowledge our shared history, learn from it, and move forward together courageously.

Year 8,9 and 11 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were invited to attend an Indigenous Culture Camp from May 13^th – 15^th. The experiences were rich and the students were amazing. Thank you to the brilliant staff at Calperum Station. We learnt so much.

   In the mornings and afternoons, we would drive to a location and check the traps called Pitfall Traps. The reason for these traps is to see how many species of animals are in the area. The way the traps work is; there is a piece of wire and netting covering a distance in a straight line with buckets dug in and their tops just above ground at regular intervals. When a creature, reptile or insect walks along the line it will eventually fall into the hole, then we can study them and release them. Calperum has over 90 Pitfall Traps over the site. Once a year, normally in the warmer months of October or November, they make big ones and collect and record the data. Skye and Lachlan

   We randomly made 1m by 1m squares and put pegs down at the corners, then collected scat and identified it. Echidna scat is shiny because of the ant shells that they eat, it has no vegetation in it. A wombat scat is a cube shape. We recorded that data to help Dr Heather Neily with her research to see if branching helps the animals to stop eating the vegetation. There are large amounts of overgrazing, for example from the over 3 million feral goats in Australia, that’s why they are looking at different methods such as branching to help plants grow and to tackle the issue. Lara, Alan, Kohen and Faith

   We walked 5km along the river and learned about the ring and canoe trees and how the Ancestors of the Murray cut the wood out of the trees for bowls and canoes. We also saw the clay oven. We learnt more about our culture and the links between STEM and our culture. We learnt more about boomerangs and how Aboriginal people used fire to help make them and dents on the back to help it return. Richard and Jack

   I enjoyed the Indigenous walk we went on because it helped us learn things we didn’t know. I learnt that you mustn’t pick up rocks from the floor, they may be ancient bones. The canoe tree was very interesting to me because I didn’t know what it was before. Tiara

   I enjoyed going for a drive to do Pit Fall Trapping and how to smoke myself with leaves after going to a spirited place. The basketball hoop needs to be fixed. Richard

   I enjoyed the night walk and Pitfall traps, also the walk and learning the history. I like how the staff were easy to talk to and provided fun facts about the history or the plants. I learnt the rules of UNO and also that canoes can last last up to 100 years from the River Red Gum. Kalyssa

  During this camp I learnt what a symbiotic relationship is and about different types of trees, like Black Box (wamping willow) and Acacia Coobah. I also learned how to make a boomerang. I was devastated that we didn’t see that many animals in the Pitfal traps, my boomerang didn’t work and we didn’t see any possums at night. Kohen

  I learnt to throw a boomerang better from Daniel and the rangers. The campfire was nice and warm. I didn’t know what Daniel was doing with the smoking leaves but I do now. It was hard walking the 5km and sanding the boomerang. Jack

 On this camp I learnt a lot about the culture of Aboriginal people in the Riverland from the past and how they lived and gained resources – trading with other Indigenous Australians, as far away as the Flinders Ranges. This surprised me a lot, and I was immediately interested. I learnt about canoe and ring trees and the currency and economic structure of local Aboriginal people. Unfortunately, in the mornings and afternoons when we checked the Pitfall traps it wasn’t very organised, and people were rushing to check the traps while others missed out. Lachlan

  Throughout the camp I really enjoyed getting to know some of the year 8’s a bit better and also getting to learn about the different kinds of scats that animals leave behind and also what a wombat hole looks like. I learnt that the rings in the tree trunk, like inside the tree show you how old the tree is. Lara

  I liked making boomerangs and checking the Pitfall traps for animals, but I didn’t like looking at the herbivore density in the scats. I learnt that the rings inside of a tree trunk show how old the tree is. Faith

  I enjoyed making the boomerang so that I can now make more at home with my sisters. I also enjoyed the 5km walk because I learnt all about the ring trees and canoe trees and what the ovens were. I can also recognize scat.   Alan

I enjoyed the animal traps because we got to see all sorts of animals, like scorpions and lizards. I didn’t know that Calperum used to be a sheep station. Skye

The symbols on this boomerang I painted are about the night walk we did.

and also show the stars we saw.

Bailey White - Triathlon

Bailey recently earned selection in the School Sport SA State Triathlon team for his efforts at the championships held earlier this year at West Lakes. Since then, he has attended training sessions in Adelaide as well as a few of his own sessions.

Bailey competed against many other students from S.A. along with others from around Australia on the sunny Sunshine Coast (Qld). It was a great experience for Bailey where he finished 17^th overall as a Junior Boy (1^st for S.A.). Bailey looks forward to continuing his training for future triathlon events.

Bailey reported “it was a great experience with lots of learning and character building" (as he away from his family for four days) and "I enjoyed the challenge of competing against the best in S.A.”

Congratulations on a huge start to the year Bailey!

Gemma Letton - Softball

Gemma was recently selected for the School Sport SA Girls Softball team (U17) to compete at the championships held in Canberra. As well as her selection to the team, Gemma was chosen to be a co-captain by her peers. Unfortunately a few results earlier in the week didn’t go their way, making it difficult for them to finish any higher than 4^th.

Gemma said that “the experience was great as she I the opportunity to challenge myself and play against some of the best players in Australia (in my age group). Along with playing softball for her state and meeting lifelong friends, Gemma visited the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian War Memorial (adding to her experience).

Gemma and the South Australian team had mixed results over the week, finishing fourth out of the six teams. On a personal level Gemma was awarded Most Valuable Player (MVP) for S.A. and also named in the All-Australian Tournament Team.

Congratulations Gemma.

Janis Richter - Motocross

Some of us may or may not be aware but we have a motocross star in the making attending RHS. Janis Richter has been riding motorbikes with her dad, brothers and friends since see was young. Janis recently started racing in what is a growing sport amongst females. Her recent success and hard work has led her to be ranked as number 3 in the state.

She recently finished 2^nd in a mixed team event at the Tyler Lange weekend event. She then competed in the Girls 150/85cc class and finished 3^rd.

Janis is looking forward to continuing her hard training in preparation for her next race in Keith (June).

Well done Janis.

Alex Curtis

After a successful competition in Aubrey (NSW) in January Alex was selected (1 in 3 South Australians) to compete in New Zealand in the U17 Australian Country Junior Basketball Competition. They competed against a variety of local teams from New Zealand and finished with 2 wins from 5 games.

Alex said that “it was a great experience to see different parts of New Zealand and experience their culture along with playing basketball in a different country.”

He is currently working hard to prepare himself for his next commitment, which is a trip to Darwin in July as part of the South Australian Country Team. They will play against the other state country and metro teams over a week.

Congratulations Alex and all the best in Darwin.

Meet the Writers is an annual celebration of reading and writing where authors for young adults share their experience, knowledge and joy in the writing process. This year it is being held on June 20^th at the Adelaide Convention Centre. We are excited to be attending and in the first instance we are inviting students in Year 8 and students from the school Book Group to attend. Students will have the opportunity to express an interest through their English classes and will receive a letter to take home outlining the event. As reading and writing is a RHS priority the costs of this event for thirty students are being paid for by the school. Please direct any enquiries to Mandy Smith.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is underway and two students have already handed in their Student Reading Records. All students can start or continue to participate in the challenge by reading twelve books by September 6^th this year. Information and Student Reading Records are available in the library and on the library website @ https://renmarkhs.sa.libguides.com/books/prc.

Mandy Smith, Teacher Librarian.

Stage 1 and 2 Drama students performed Act 1 of The House of Bernarda Alba to an audience of proud parents, staff and friends on Monday evening, 27/5. The atmosphere and mood was one of excitement and tension as it was the night the class had prepared for since last term. Off stage roles included costume design and direction by Penn O’Brien and backstage by Bianca Baxter.

Students commented that they were very pleased with their performance, some stating that they had learnt a lot from the whole experience such as how to memorise lines, Spanish foods and culture, what life was like in the 1930’s, makeup and hair trends as well as maid duties.

The performance had energy, perfect knowledge of lines and characterisation. Bernarda could be heard screaming from across the room as she stamped her cane while the maid, Poncia knew everyone’s secrets. It was an enjoyable evening.

Wendy Matulic - Drama Teacher

After a successful day at the RHS Cross Country event, a team was selected to represent RHS in the Interschool Cross Country at Martin's Bend on Wednesday the 22^nd of May. The team was looking strong with each of the students selected being proud and excited to represent the high school. This has been a very positive to see throughout 2019 and as a school, we hope it continues.

It was a perfect sunny day in Berri with many students starting to feel the pressure but walking the track helped to relieve the tension.Throughout the day there were many individual performances that stood out but ultimately the most pleasing was the willingness from students to do their best.

Each member contributed to the results and ultimately ensured that Renmark High School were the Riverland High School Cross Country CHAMPIONS for 2019. This was historic for RHS as we had won two (swimming and cross country) out of the three Riverland High School sporting events for 2019. To see the joy and relief when our name was called out during presentation, highlighted what it meant for the students and that all the hard work and commitment was worth it.

Along with the APEX Championship Shield, we won 4 of the possible 8 Age Group Pennants, including the U14 Boys, U14 Girls, U16 Boys and the U20 Girls.

Standout individual results:

A special mention to Bailey White who broke the U13 Boys 3km record set by Dylan White a few years back (with a time of 10:01.95). Bailey then decided to go for a warm down jog, running in the U20 Boys event where he finished 2^nd (unfortunately it didn’t go towards our points).

Once again, athletes and supporters alike contributed to our success and should be very proud of our continued success. The willingness to do their part for the team was highlighted with everyone committed to their event - with students Tyler Stevens, Georgia Kennedy, Kalyn Ratcliffe and Kierra Schumann all competing in an age group above (running in the U15’s instead of the U14’s) to strengthen the team.

Congratulations and well done to everyone involved in this historic day for RHS. Hold your heads high and always remember that you played a part in securing the 2019 Riverland High School Cross Country Shield.

Hi everybody,

What a busy time it has been withso many really exciting things happening. 

Cross Country - what a wonderful success for our students…well done everybody.

Recently, in the Drama room Yr. 11 and Yr. 12's presented the play “The House of Bernarda Alba”.  The students did an excellent job in all their roles from acting, directing, props and costumes.   I played a very small part in supporting the props and have to say that the stage looked wonderful with furniture from the 1930’s sourced from various places. When the girls walked on stage in costume acting as women from the 1930’s, it was very realistic. I applaud Ms. Wendy Matulic for her professionalism and her ability to bring out the absolute best in each of the students taking part in this production and supporting them consistently throughout.  

Well done Year 11 and 12 Drama students…you did yourselves, everyone and especially Renmark High proud.

I popped into the Home Ec. rooms recently and was talking to one of our amazing teachers, Narinder Riar. Narinder informed me that the year 9’s have recently made beeswax wraps.  I'm not sure if you have heard of them, I only discovered them recently, and am so impressed.  They are used instead of plastic wrap and I believe it's a great thing for our students to learn about reducing plastic waste.  I was very excited about it and just had to mention it to you all.  Watch this space!

Have a wonderful week everyone and keep smiling and be kind to each other.

Cheers Pammy - Pastoral Care Worker.

Thank you to all families who have paid or made contact with our Finance Officer, and submitted their applications for School Card.

Statements were posted on Friday 31^st May 2019. Prompt payment of school charges is appreciated and contributes to the smooth running of the school.

At times, families have difficulty meeting their financial obligations. Should this be the case, please do not hesitate to contact Sonja Modlinski, RHS Finance Officer and she will assist you in setting up a payment plan to avoid inevitable referral to the Debt Recovery Unit as required by Department processes.

Please be aware that if no prior arrangements have been put in place, unpaid monies will be forwarded to the Department Recovery Unit at the conclusion of Term 2.

Options for Payment

Payment can be made by cash, cheque, EFTPOS, Visa, MasterCard or by Direct Bank Deposit (see details below) Students are to make payments prior to the start of the school day, 8.40am or at recess time 10.40am-11.00am. Parents/Caregivers may make payments at anytime from 8.15am to 1.30pm

RHS Bank Details

BANK SA

 BSB: 105-035

ACC NO: 157004240

Family ID: eg SMIT05

(left hand side of invoice)

School Card Scheme
If you think you may be eligible for School Card please go online to: https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/financial-help-scholarships-and-grants/school-card-scheme 

Should you require a hard copy application, please see our Finance Officer at Reception